“It feels right to see Vodacom up there in the top ten – it’s where they belong.”
The Loeries Official Rankings for 2022 have been released and we were thrilled to see our client Vodacom taking ninth place in the brand rankings for Africa and Middle East. Vodacom also claimed sixth place in the brand rankings for Sub-Saharan Africa.
This was Vodacom’s first top-20 appearance in the Sub-Saharan Africa category, which started in 2021. It had not made the top 25 in the Africa and Middle East category in 2021 or 2020. In achieving this massive jump, Vodacom also successfully leap-frogged strong competition, beating many well-established brands.
A Celebration of Innovation
The Loeries Official Rankings is positioned as an independent measure of the most innovative brands across Africa and the Middle East in the communication space. Points are awarded for finalists (capped at 30), as well as all wins of bronze awards and above.
Vodacom had a cracker of a year, taking home two gold Loeries, three silver Loeries and one bronze Loerie, in addition to the finalists – all of which contributed to its success in the Rankings.
Market Leader
“Vodacom is an iconic African brand and has been a leader in innovation on the continent for years – both as a business and in the technology space. So, it makes sense that the brand’s communications should echo that market-leading innovative mindset,” says Business Unit Director Alex White.
“With a brand as bold and exciting as Vodacom, there’s so much to be inspired by and when you couple that with their eagerness to embrace creative solutions and do things that have never been done before, it gives our team the freedom to do their best work,” White continues. “I feel the team we’ve put together really ‘gets’ the brand and we see that coming through in the work. It feels right to see Vodacom up there in the top ten – it’s where they belong.”
“Of course, we were very pleased with the awards we brought home at the 2022 Loeries, but seeing where we stand in the Official Rankings has been extra special,” says Thami Majola, Executive Head of Brand and Comms South Africa, “For us it confirms that we’ve picked the right agency partner in VMLY&R. They’ve been a natural fit for Vodacom, as they share our commitment to purpose-driven work and understand our culture and vision for the business. I’m excited to see what the future holds.”
VMLY&R also improved in the Loeries Official Rankings, moving from twelfth position in the Agency Rankings in 2020 and 2021 to fifth position in 2022.
The Loeries Official Rankings list is available here.